Sleeve button



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' J. B. VAN HOUTEIL -Y E sEEEvE BUTTON. I No. 297,731; Patented Apr. 29, 1884.

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J. B. VAN HOUTEN.

SLEEVE BUTTON.

No. 297,731. Patented'Apr. 29,1884,

' (Te S Y I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN B. VAN HOUTEN, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

SLEEVE-BUTTON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 297,731 dated April 29, 1884.

Application filed April 6, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom it/may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN B. VAN HoU'rEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sleeve-Buttons, 820.; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the inveution, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had-to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in sleeve-buttons, and more particularly to that class of buttons having a pivoted or adjustable back.

The invention consists of such arrangement and combination of parts as will be hereinafter set forth, and finally embodied in the claim, the object of these improvements being to increase the utility of this class of buttons, to

facilitate the construction and manipulation of the partsthereof, and to overcome certain defects and objections heretofore. existing thereto.

In the drawings, in which similar letters of reference indicate like parts in each of the several figures, Figure 1 is a vertical section of a sleeve-button embodying my improvement. Fig. 2 is a half of a vertical section enlarged, and Fig. 3 is a perspectiveview.

My improved s1eeve-button is constructed substantially as shown in the drawings, 'in

which a is the front plate or button; 12, the

post or shank of the button; 0, the back plate or shoe, pivoted to the shank b at d. The shank or post bis constructed as indicated, being tubular and bifurcated, and within itis arranged a spring, 6, which in its normal condition exerts an upward pressure against the portion of the back plate pivoted to or within the shank, and thereby holds said back plate or shoe in operative and inoperative positions, as will be readily understood. The peculiar shape of said spring and the fact that it extends down both branches of the bifurcated shank 1i and touches or hugs the inside of the same at the points I) and W, as clearly indicated in Fig. 2, add greatly to' the; strength and utility of the same, as will be apparent.

The back plate or shoe, which is of the ordinary form, is provided with a central lug, through which passes the pivotal pin 01, which secures said shoe to the button. The bottom and sides of said lug are preferably fiat, and are adapted'to engage with the spring to hold the shoe, as already stated, in operative and inoperative relations with the button; and in changing the adjustment of the shoe from its operative position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, to an inoperative position, it may be turned in either direction with equal facility, asboth sides of the lug are alike and hold the same relation to the spring, as will be readily understood. Between the ends of the spring and the bottom of the tubular shank is left enough room for the play of said spring. The upward pressure of the spring 6 against the portion of the back plate, 0, keeps it from turning on its pivot, and still permits its being turned on the same when desirable, as is evident.

By the arrangement and construction herein described, the spring cannot become detached or lost, even though the shoe be accidentally detached, it requiring some degree of force to remove the spring after it has been adjusted in the post.

I am aware that a bifurcated post and a spring acting in connection therewith are not new, broadly considered, nor do I so claim the same; but,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and wish to secure through Letters Patent, is-

In a sleevebutton having a pivoted back or shoe, the combination, with the face-plate and the back or shoe, of a bifurcated tubular 

